The Waco daily examiner. [volume] (Waco, Tex.) 187?-1888, 1887-07-24
To Take Effect " hen.

amendment to the constitution takes
effect, a, they do the lspse of time
that bars suit upon promissory
note or an open account. Yet. for
purposes which are not hard TO con.
conjecture, prohibition leaders arc
persistently misleading the people
upon this question. Unwilling to
charge their party with the expense
and Inconvenience of an immed iate
called session of the Legislature, they
tell the man whose property will have
to bear the burden ofthe tax, that the
prohibition amendment will not take
effect. IN the event il receives u ma or
Ivy of tho votes cast, until the legisla-
ture resssembles and gives 1t effect by
proper cnsctments. From this they
argue that existing PROV 'ions will be
made In force until this cction of the
Legislature; and that though these are
bad enough, they will answer until
the next regular session In lSS 9
This much 10 settle the qualm, OF the
taxpayer. Then there are large mum.
bers Of prohibition voters who, while
they eau get their consent to tamper
with the individual liberty OF the cit.
izen An incorporeal thing which can
neither 10 seen nor handled yet feel
that there il something wrong in
wiping out Of existence property in
saloons and their belongirg', without
compromising the owners or giving
them time to make such limited dis
position OF their property as the cir
cumstauccs admit. Tuthi- class they
Say The saloon keeper j. scarcely
worthy OF our cons Iteration, but he
ha- acquired his prosperity by legal
sanction. The amendment will not
affect this property until the cLisia
turc acts, which action may be delayed
until los9, by which time he may con.
vert his saloon property int money
or other vcluc-" And this T., to set.
tie the voter who Is not wiling 10
rob hi. ncighbor, even though under
the sanction OF law Wer II not for
eign to tho present purpose. it might
be- shown that this prtteXt, il ingeuu-
OILS which it is not-yiomtes both
the letter and the spirit of both tho
state and federal constitutions.
As so in the beginning. the cour.,
have put this question Of time o'yond
argument 'Iney have definitely sot-
tied that M amcndm mt such M this
takes effect from tho moment it is
legally sscertaincd that it has received
u majority OF the votes cast and
this time Of asccrtsumen is liked by
the constitution at the fortieth day
after the holding of the election. Up
to that time and no longer will pres
cnt provisions control the liquor
traffic il the amendment carries ct
course there Will he no penalties for
violsting the amendment until the
legislature Gxos them, because the
amendment prescribos none but TIE
traffic will be Illegal just the same,
and no contracts made in relation 10
it can be enforced in the courts. And
until the Legislature does fix lena lies
the traffic will 90 on
without restraint or regulation, aud
without dollar of revenue to the
state.
In the case OF Wilson Va the state.
- Court of Appeals Reports, the
court says; I'VE are OF the
opinion, therefore, that as soon
rs the election returns were can
yassed, ana 1t was ascertained
that II majority of the votes cast in
favor OF the amendment, il became
par, OF the constitution, and WAS in
full force and effect from that date
The same court held in the case OF
Scwell vs. The State, Is Court of APP
poals reports page 80, precisely sim
ular doctrine. The same holding
WAS applied to tho case Of Schwartz
vs. I.iberman, Condensed Civil Cases
Court of Appeals. The as Neal vs.
The People, ~ y. \. Report, pagc
276 ia precisely in point, and holds
idcnticslly with the courts of this
state.
our supreme Court has uniformly
hold the same doctrine notably in the
cases of IIemphill vs. Watson, So Tex
rs Reports, GSl, and Peck VIZ
: windell, decided ut tho Austin
term not sixty days ago. The
latter csse pivoted upon the question
whether our state constitution OF
1869 took effect from it's ratification
aud the legal asccrtaiument OF that
fact, or from the admission OF the
state TO representation in congress
| n OuA of lhn ablast oDiuiou5 ever